Brief by Allen Best
Energy – May 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Buses in Crested Butte were scheduled to start burning biodiesel in April after a winter devoted to using only petroleum-based diesel.
Bacteria in the winter’s supply of the fuel was blamed for clogged fuel filters that caused buses to break down at Christmas. Representatives of the oil company that supplied the faulty fuel declared the problem fully addressed, with no return of recurrent problems, according to the Crested Butte News.
Biodiesel is also used in a 20% ratio to 80% petrochemical diesel in the bus fleets at Breckenridge, Telluride, and Jackson Hole, and in snow cats at A-Basin and Aspen-Snowmass. However, Breckenridge buses were also reported idled temporarily this winter by a bad batch of fuel.
That trouble has darkened the reception being given biodiesel in other ski towns. The representative of another biodiesel manufacturer, Blue Sun, had to field skeptical questions when he showed up in Steamboat Springs to talk up biodiesel. The representative, John Long, acknowledged the problems at Crested Butte and Breckenridge, but traced those problems to the absence of standards dealing with the way in which alternative fuel is blended with petroleum-based diesel, reports The Steamboat Pilot.
Long defended biodiesel as causing less pollution. While it’s possible that biodiesel emits more nitric oxides, Long said that it emits 78% less carbon dioxide. While some problems have been reported in converting to biodiesel, Long minimized those problems. Finally, he noted that the cost has come down in just the last year, to 10 to 15% more than conventional diesel.
Both Steamboat and Vail Resorts officials are reported to be considering biodiesel.
